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Ragnarok - Community Reviews back

by A.S. Byatt
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susanvoss18
susanvoss18 rated it 12 years ago
First, Canongate Myths is a series of novellas in which each book focuses on a different ancient myth. Each book in the series so far is written by a different author and each can be read independently of the series.A young girl tries to escape the brittle world around her by diving into a book abou...
Helen, the Hermit
Helen, the Hermit rated it 12 years ago
My first impression of this book was "I thought it would be thicker".My final impression is "I wish it was thicker".I know it is impossible; author chose to focus on Ragnarok, not Norse or Germanic mythology in general. The long introduction of dramatis personae is merely so we would feel more conne...
spocksbro
spocksbro rated it 13 years ago
Update (8/15/12): A week or so ago I listened to the Audio CD and was impressed - again - with just how good this book is. The reader (whose name I've forgotten) does an excellent job, and I gained a better understanding of what I had read from listening to it.Update (6/6/12): I found the short stor...
Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud
Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud rated it 13 years ago
Rating: 1* of five (p41)"...Airmen were the Wild Hunt. They were dangerous. If any hunter dismounted, he crumbled to dust, the child read. It was a good story, a story with meaning, fear and danger were in it, and things out of control."I have Byatted for the last time. I love the Norse myths, and t...
Peace, Love & Books
Peace, Love & Books rated it 13 years ago
A brilliantly imagined retelling of the apocalyptic Norse myth.
Cecily's book reviews
Cecily's book reviews rated it 13 years ago
This is a remarkably good book, that I somehow failed to enjoy as much as I wanted or expected, but I think the failing is mine, rather than Byatt's. "The thin child in wartime" (Byatt herself) is given a book of Norse legends, that she treasures. Those stories are retold through her eyes and though...
chapterseldomread
chapterseldomread rated it 13 years ago
It's no secret that A.S. Byatt is one of my favourite authors. Her writing takes my breath away and Ragnarok is no exception. Part of the Canongate Myth's series, Byatt takes the ancient Norse legend about the end of the world and makes it current. It's no surprise that Byatt would be part of this...
Hall of Records
Hall of Records rated it 13 years ago
I desperately want to like what A.S. Byatt puts out because I’m convinced that she is an awesome person, and I have tried to enjoy several of her other novels, but it seems that her style of writing just isn’t for me. It’s a bit too dry, too boring, and too cold for my liking. The narration seems di...
rameau's ramblings
rameau's ramblings rated it 13 years ago
In theory I love the idea of retelling myths, because I love old myths and because I'm too lazy to wade through all the versions and information currently available. Anyone who has spent time trying to read all that there is to know about the Norse mythology – or Greek or Roman for that matter – kno...
Unabridged Chick
Unabridged Chick rated it 13 years ago
This skinny book is really a novella, closed with a brief essay. And in that way Byatt does so well, this small book on Norse mythology also tells a story of marriage and motherhood, war, loss, escapism, violence. Insidious, along the edges of the larger story, what seems to be a straight-forward ...
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